Advantages of Renewable Energy

Unless you've been stranded alone on a desert island for the past thirty of forty years you have for sure caught wind of at least a little bit of the huge buzz that alternative energy has been generating in recent times. So then if you have heard just a little bit of it, just what are the rest of the things that people are saying about the benefits of renewable energy?
Now the first thing worth pointing out is that the "actual cost" to each citizen for the energy that they use in their vehicles and homes is vastly understated. Yes you pay certain amount each time you pay for a fill up at the gas station or send in a check to your local electric company, but if you think that's all that it's costing you, you are vastly mistaken.
For instance what about the cost of all the wars that are going on all over the Middle East and don't kid yourself? They are all being fought over energy reserves. Now when you consider the combined cost of military expenditures in the US, Canada, and the UK, the actual number is staggering. Not to mention the lives lost on all sides of these conflicts.
Now somebody has to pay for all these wars for energy and that somebody is you when they deduct the taxes from your pay check each week. So then how much are you really paying for a gallon of petrol or a megawatt of electricity? The answer to that is who knows but it's a lot more than is showing on your power bill or at the gas pump.
So the first real advantage of renewable energy is it's a lot cheaper, and that's even without the above detailed hidden costs of conventional energy sources. In fact right now a photovoltaic solar system will deliver an actual cost savings of some 30%. That is that over the course of its service life, every $100 you spent on a system will produce $130 worth of power. At today's cost.
The next advantage worth mentioning is independence. Independence from the main power grid that has everyone hooked up like so many addicts. Just take look at your TV news and see how people scream any time any of their rights are infringed upon. Yet at the same time like trained dogs they hand over a huge chunk of their earnings each month to their power company. What about your right not to be ripped off?
Of course you grumble every time they raise the rates, and you can bet as the future progresses they will only continue to do so. But do your grumblings make a bit of difference? Of course not. You're getting ripped off out of your hard earned pay each month by your electric and gas company because you allow them to do it. The only way that you are going to stop it, is to start generating your own power.